Dr. Katch Ononuju contested for the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last National Convention ‘Special’ of the party. He is also the Director General of the Heritage Centre, an organisation dedicated to research in issues of politics and economic matters. In this interview with NNAH DOUGLAS, he speaks on matters regarding the current state of the PDP, the future of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Muhammadu Buhari’s new administration.

Before we proceed, what do you have to say of Nigeria’s democracy in the past 16 years and still running?  

I am very happy how far we have come. In sixteen years we took a dead African dictatorship turned it into Africa’s most admired country, in the process we created Africa’s largest economy and country with Africa’s fastest growing middle class. In the first stanza, we have done very well, we took such a country and we did what they thought was not possible today, not only are we being admired, there is also a struggle for the control of the soul of Nigeria, as you can see international attention and intention to control Nigeria. I believe that Nigeria from what you saw, from the time of the annulment of the election, we have shown that if given more freedom, we will shine and we have shown that we are Africa’s largest concentration of 8th greatest man power. We are today, telling people who believe and called us the giant of Africa which is actually what we are.

Following the defeat of the PDP in the last general election, as a bona-fide member of the party, what would you make out of the whole scenario?

The party after sixteen years of governance became sick with a disease called complacency. We built a democracy so good that when we lost, we admitted our failure. We have also gone to apologize to those who may feel that we did not meet their aspirations; we have asked them to forgive us. The democracy which we built is our legacy and we have intentions of defending it. We believe, we created the longest period of Nigeria’s history of economic expansion on a scale unmatched by any other country on the continent and we did this in just sixteen years of democracy. Don’t forget that Nigeria maybe independent but not all Nigeria is free and if you ask me what are my regrets, I will tell you, yes we did well in growing the economy but that growth was not inclusive; we intend to set a purpose towards building a more inclusive society, we have a historical problem of lack of education in Northern Nigeria. Don’t forget the reason for this. Our country was colonized twice, before the British came, the Fulani’s had already come to Northern Nigeria as religious missionaries, conquered the Hausa’s and colonized the Hausa’s and because the British saw that already a colony existed in Northern Nigeria, they asked the Fulani to continue to rule over the Hausa’s and report back to the British government, that was how we got the arrangement called ‘indirect rule’. Our fathers fought for independence thereafter the British left, the Fulanis did not leave, and that is why today we have no Hausa man who is Emir anywhere in Northern Nigeria, or anywhere in Hausa land. We believe that is why we have not been able to expand. Permit me to tell you the history so that you would not say we developed the South and left the North. Our country was independent but not in the North. In a situation where the Hausas have the largest number of children without access to education, without education, we do not have the logistical strength to compete and win in a market driven system which is what democracy is all about. We have embarked upon a strategy to give the Hausa’s and the North education, that’s why you saw in the North, and under President Jonathan, we created 14 universities with 11 of them in Northern Nigeria. We built the largest amount of schools since independence more than all government that came before us put together.

Do you think the North give a damn on Jonathan’s government achievement in the region particularly with regards to education?

Well, they may not appreciate it because without education in Northern Nigeria, you will have massive poverty. Nobody will appreciate if everything you say you have done has not been converted to direct benefit. The issue is that in the North where the progression economically in the south happened, but the North was not included because of this quantum lack of education, we need education to have the tools and capacity to succeed in a market driven system. These we do not have, these we set purpose towards ameliorating and that’s why we embarked on building the largest amount of schools ever in Nigeria’s history in the North. We embarked on the reformation of the almajiri system. Do not forget we have a problem we inherited a very predatory elite from dictatorship, we can’t change Rome in a day, we can’t build everything everybody want in a day. We took a dictatorship and transformed it, not only African most admired country but we built Africa’s largest economy in Nigeria and also we brought the fastest growing middle class in Africa. We have a lot to thank ourselves for, we have approached the market, and today everybody comes to Nigeria, not because they like Nigeria but because there is a lot of money to be made. You have seen our last rebasing of Nigeria’s economy, you have seen there is a very strong infrastructure deficit to impress that infrastructure, industries will need to make profit and this is the reasons we tell you, we have the greatest amount of space growth, we believe that Nigeria is like a virgin awaiting discovery.

But the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Osinbajo has come out to say that Nigeria is facing its worst hit in the economy?

Those are political statements, if the economy is too bad; we were not the only managers of that, the All Progressive Congress (APC) ran Lagos state for 16 years. We created policies that allow Lagos to breath, to embark on a lot of things. Why is the economy so much in pain? The APC is responsible, we thought for us to take the best product that we have, which is our crude oil, to build jobs locally, to grow our economy locally, the APC organized mass riot across the country and refused us removing the petroleum subsidy. If we had removed the subsidy today, the problems we had due to the glut in oil prices wouldn’t be here because we would have been able to create jobs. We would have been able to create a local competitive market for refining of petroleum products. With eight by- products from that local refinery would have been used to build our local ancillary industries. With that ancillary industries employ people, with the economy activity contributing to the GDP growth of the country. With the GDP growth creating a boom-boom for all, we will have more money to the Federation account, more money to share. The APC is responsible for our inability to remove subsidy. As I speak to you today, the international crude prices are down, the problem is because, we cannot be able to get all the money we want to do the things we want, and they are responsible. As I speak to you, the cost of engine oil is still what it was. The crude might be down but the cost of all by-products we get such as engine oil, brake fluid which are by-products from crude, the cost have not gone down.

These are things we envisaged to actually create for our country and to provide jobs from young people, not to take the raw crude to ship abroad so that you can use that to create market abroad and our people do not gain. The APC is responsible for how bad the economy have gotten not the PDP. We had all the intensions to liberalize, free the market and grow the way we have sustained the progression to actually build this massive GDP activity, we would have had that advantage in the petroleum sector. The APC organized with the beneficiaries of the subsidy scam to undermine our economic progress.

Don’t you think why the economy is this way is because Nigeria monopolized the economy by concentrating on crude oil instead of diversifying?

Yes, it is not good for us to be a mono-economy. We wanted a diversification, we tried to remove the subsidy but the APC rioted in Lagos and all over to shut us down. We went back because of the public pressure. This is why, if we have been able to do that, this market has the capacity to actually pour whatever price it is. Don’t forget the Japanese got to wherever they are today in electronics, is because they have thirteen different companies competing in electronics market. When we have competition, merits will drive down prices. Where we are is as a result of the APC not allowing us to remove that which very fraudulent item that was used to undermine competition in the economy. We still maintain till tomorrow that the subsidy is a fraud, its untenable and should have been removed when we say remove it. If they think that the subsidy is good, let them remove it, now they have it to play with. If they think that the subsidy is good, let them continue with it. You can see where we are, monies that should have been used to develop infrastructure we are wasting on subsidy. Another problem we had is, historically, recurrent expenditure was about 52 percent of the country’s budget, we know what the National Assembly did about the appropriation, to themselves, as I speak to you, less than a thousand Nigerians at the National Assembly appropriate to their own recurrent needs of over 25 percent of our country’s budget. I believe it’s where the APC government should actually cut down the cost of governance. It is wrong for Nigeria to have the highest cost of governance on earth. Wasting about 80 percent of the country’s National budget on recurrent expenditure, it is unattainable, unsustainable, wrong and evil.

Talking about the PDP as a party, we understood that it is undergoing ‘surgical operation’ in the last few years and up till now we still see how it changes its leadership, what is happening in your party?

My party is in order. It was formed initially as an omnibus to guide Nigeria from dictatorship to democracy. We have not only built a good democracy but we have built a democracy where the loser accepted the people’s mandate. We called to congratulate, the first in Nigeria’s history. We are cool with everything; we have now taken a tactical withdrawal to set us proper for our next re-launch. We have built a legacy that was so good where the loser admitted that he lost and put a phone to the winner to congratulate him just as it is done in the United States. Let them take it from where we have stopped. It is turn by turn. Voters said we should go away, we accept it. Whatever stories or theories people might spin about rigging, an INEC connivance know, it is the PDP that built the INEC which they said we lost, we accept it. So the PDP as its known across the world, a lot of stakeholders think that the PDP National Working Committee got complacent. They said that they were not involved in the presidential election, if they were not involved, that means they became so irrelevant, they could not be there. That is why people say if you are not irrelevant you could not participate in presidential election. You should go away so that we can have the chance to recalibrate our intentions towards providing our democratic findings to the people of Nigeria.

It was reported that the PDP has called for an emergency of a National Convention slated for July, can you confirm it?

I have been hearing such rumour, I do not know about it but of course, as a political party, just recently before the inauguration, the PDP chairman Board of Trustees (BOT) put in his resignation letter same day with the Chairman of the party. This is in line with the democratic tenets across the world. Mr. Miliban resigned when he could not guide the troupes to a victory in the political battle. In Sambisa, the soldiers who ran away and could not deliver victory were removed and some of them that ran away from the war front were court-martialled. What you do is to bring a brand new troop, those who can go and bring you victory. The PDP right now is in a point to recalibrate, rebrand, rebuilt, re-strengthen itself and defend the democracy that it has built. There is nothing that is wrong with me. There is a tactical withdrawal to set us proper for our next re-launch.

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